Forgotten Friends
by TealDragonsUnite
Summary: The classic Cars story is when a human falls into the Cars world... but what if that was reversed? Not at all humanized, with the exception of those that were already humans.


**Hello! This is, once again, Team TealDragonsUnite here to share with you another collaboration story. This is our take on the common human-and-car story… but instead of a human falling into the cars world, it's the exact opposite. I hope you enjoy. :)**

It was a dark, stormy night. Like glowing cracks in the sky itself, the lightning opened up and illuminated the clouds and fierce rain. And while the winds blew strong, and odd pair flew. A dragon, pure white as snow, scales illuminated by the bright flashes lightning and blue streaks rippling down his neck, body, and tail, fought the wind buffeting his wings. Beside him flew a war battered F4U Corsair, painted on his side was the Navy's proud emblem along with a white 36 and the signia of the Jolly Wrenches. Where his port wing folded up was a line of welded metal where his wing once had been ripped off. "This is one heck of a storm!" Rush, the Corsair, called to the dragon only a foot away from his starboard wing.

Streak roared back, "You've got that right! We've got to land before we get our wings ripped off!" The dragon could only be understood by a precious handful of vehicles, and Rush was one of them. Most only heard dragon calls, chirps, roars, and growls.

"I hear you, Streak!" He adjusted his pitch to go into a gentle dive, but the wind tried to push him further downward. For an engine stopping second, Rush was caught in a steep dive, wind catching around the veteran's wings like it had so long ago in Glendalcanal. The white and blue dragon followed, trying desperately to steady the airplane's faltering flight. No matter how he tried, his friend was still giving in to the gravity of the earth, though he was able to make the dive less steep. Looking at the area where they were going to crash, he saw a large square building, a long strip of grass that looked like a very short runway, and parking lot where several, what he thought sleeping cars sat, and what looked like a playset nearby. Moving into the procedure for an emergency landing, Rush just scraped the top of this wooden structure, touching down a short distance away. Streak decided to land on top of it, but it collapsed under his weight.

He looked up to the sky to see the dark storm clouds that surrounded them, but they looked odd to him. They were shaped like a reverse tornado, with its top pointing up into the sky and the opening pointing toward the ground directly below it, which contained the area where the duo landed. He looked around, confused, and then walked over to Rush, who seemed a little panicked but otherwise alright, fortunately. Unfortunately, though, he had already managed to get stuck somewhere with his bad luck. His propeller had somehow gotten lodged between two trees undamaged and however he turned them they still caught onto the trees. He was focused on helping the Corsair get free when he heard a sound and whipped his head around. The dragon let his jaw drop, "Rush, we gotta hide."

The semi crash landing had made the plane on edge, now he was slightly scared, "What is it?"

"How do you say, humans," Streak said with a flap of his wings, "We called them scavengers."

Rush laughed, chortling at the thought, "No, Streak, just as dinosaurs don't exist, humans don't anymore either."

Streak threw his wings over his head, "Tell that to them!"

…

A middle school student walked briskly along in the rain. If she hadn't had her youth group's meeting tonight, she'd be safely at home, where it was dry. She shivered as thunder rolled across the sky. She was afraid of the storm, even though they were a regular occurrence in Minnesota. But tonight was different, the storm clouds were twisting up in the sky like an upside down top. If the girl had known more about weather, she may have been even more frightened than she already was. But perhaps the most odd of what was happening was a roar of an airplane above head. Yes, there was an airport near by, but never, ever had she heard the sound of engines so close to the church or its grounds. Curious, despite her fear, she crept forward and found that part of the playset had collapsed in a heap. She shrugged as she turned. A second later and she might have seen the form of an odd creature and huge bat wings climbing out of the pile of wood and plastic.

She walked away, going to the youth pastor to let him know. He didn't much care at the time about the set, as it was coming down anyway, he said. He was only glad nobody got hurt. The girl only shook her head and joined her friends.

"Hello, Hannah," Bethany greeted her. Her almost black hair and slightly pale skin contrasted to each other.

Hannah smiled back, "Hi! Hey, did you see those weird clouds yet?"

"No," Autumn shook her head, "they looked normal last time I checked."

Courtney, Bethany's sister, was already up against the windows of the doors. "Woah, that is odd. It looks like an upside down tornado."

At this, Autumn ran over to see, "and what's moving over there… wait, where's the swing set?"

Hannah shrugged, "It must have collapsed in the storm."

"And this isn't news to us?" Bethany asked, sarcastically, "Those were the only swings meant for people our age."

Autumn and Courtney weren't paying attention to us, just the clouds outside. "Hey!" Autumn shouted, "I just saw something move, I swear!" Hannah moved over to look, skeptical of anything out there but a few deer that appeared once and a while. She pushed beside Courtney, who pushed open the door.

"Wait," Hannah called, but already Bethany and Autumn slipped through. Hannah had no choice but to follow.

What they saw was shocking...

* * *

She said goodbye to her mother and began her walk up to the school. While she had been dropped off just outside campus, there was a long stretch of sidewalk between that location and the actual school, normally used for loading busses. She held her umbrella closely above her head after feeling a few sprinkles. She loved rain, but her hair frizzed so easily she didn't like actually being in it, preferring to watch it from her bedroom window at home. Leah wondered why it was raining today; she hadn't seen the weather, but it never rained to begin with, being in a desert; she still carried an umbrella with her just because of days like this, getting many comments from her friends whenever they saw it in her backpack.

The rain strengthened, a few flashes of lightning lighting up the sky every now and then, like a proper storm should. _This is weird_, she thought, but then heard the monotonous dings of the first bell. She redirected her path toward the cafeteria building, where the electives were, and wondered if her band teacher was going to give them a new piece of music that day. Taking one last look at the sky, she saw the clouds morph into an odd pattern, almost like a tornado, but she dismissed it as her imagination being hyper again and went into the nice, dry building for the time being.

...

Holley shivered a little as she drove to the CHROME headquarters in London. She hadn't been there in a while, being in Tokyo for so long, and she didn't like all of the rain that came with it. Quickly making her way into the building, she greeted her new partner, "Hello, Finn," she said, allowing her engine to warm herself up.

"Good morning, Holley," he replied respectfully, "Did you happen to look at the cloud pattern on your way here?" he asked, somewhat curious.

"I was too cold," she admitted, "Why?"

"All of the weather stations are on edge," he said, "Something about the clouds being shaped oddly."

"That _is_ odd," she wondered, driving outside out of curiosity. Sure enough, a reverse tornado overtook the sky. Making sure Finn wasn't following her, she activated her wings and slowly hovered up to look closer. Her autopilot kept her from getting too close, but she could see a blue sky through the shallow hole in the center, but it didn't look quite right. It was too blue to be the normal smog-filled sky of her world. Fighting with her autopilot to get closer, she tried to get a better view when she saw Finn down below.

"What are you doing?!" he shouted up at her, "You're going to get hurt!"

She turned on her radio, "You could just use this," she said over the storm, "Something's different about this-" she cut off when she felt her engine give out. The winds of the storm took her up into the opening and she felt a wave of warmth hit her. There was no way she was in England anymore.

When she finally got control over herself, or rather her autopilot did, she observed the area where she had emerged. The winds were too strong to go up, so she went lower, almost brushing the top of an auditorium of what seemed to be a high school. Wondering where all of the students were, she guessed they were all in class for the time being, but she didn't know for how long. The doors looked a little too small to her, but she figured it was because she was high up. Landing in a courtyard that was covered in mud that must have been dust, she tried to contact Finn, but all she got in return was static.

She heard an electronic bell ring and she backed into an unseen corner, still able to observe the door of what she read was called the 'Activity Center'. Students began to emerge, and she almost audibly gasped. "Humans?" she whispered to herself, "They exist?" She wanted to take a picture, but she wasn't sure how to turn the flash on her camera off. Settling for just watching, she saw several students of all types emerge. Most had their friends, but there were two or three that only had their noses buried in books, Leah included.

She finally shut the book when she realized she was going to run into something if she kept reading. She thought she saw a glimmer of purplish pink, but dismissed it as a reflection off of a puddle and continued on to her next class, still thinking there was something familiar about that color pink.

Eventually, she made it through her honors class and a boring discussion before lunch finally came. Leah had just gotten a new idea for a story, and she desperately wanted to tell her friends, but they were all too busy talking about other things. She couldn't stand small talk most of the time, and right now she wanted to tell the whole world to be quiet; she wanted to work this idea to perfection, preferably with an outline to keep herself on track. She was about to enter the cafeteria when a sudden wave of people came thundering her way, isolating her from her friends. Unable to walk forwards, she stood, dumbfounded at the sudden stampede. After the crowd cleared, she saw a purple Jaguar in the walkway… with eyes.

Taking a little step back and realizing she was the only person within 10 feet of this car.

"Um… hello," the car said awkwardly, "You wouldn't know where I am, would you?"

"Oh my gosh…" she stammered, unable to speak above a whisper out of shock, "Um…" she thought for a second, trying to remember the answer to the question, "Arizona… Phoenix."

"How did I end up here?" she wondered to herself, looking at the computer in her mirror, but she looked back to the girl, "Are you alright?" she asked, backing up a little.

"Yeah…" she took a deep breath, "yes. It's just… you're in a movie. An animated movie, but a movie."

"I'm sure you're mistaken," she said somewhat formally to hide her fear; this girl was scared enough.

Leah looked confused, "Your name is Holley, isn't it?"

Holley took a turn to show some fright and nervousness, "How do you know my name?" she asked, wanting to draw a gun but decided against it, "How do you know about cars at all?"

Leah turned around to find that the campus was deserted. Everyone had gone to hide. "I could ask the same about you," she replied in a slightly louder voice, "How do you know about humans?"

"M-movies," she stuttered, trying to comprehend what she was talking to, "Is there any way out of this school?" she asked, knowing that authorities were probably being called.

Leah sighed, "I have more classes I have to go to," she said, "my house isn't around here, either." She thought for a moment, "Maybe you can just stay close for now… I don't think it would be a good idea for you to show yourself. There's a neighborhood back there," she pointed to the area of campus that was surrounded by houses, "My mom's going to pick me up after school somewhere over there. If you want to follow on side streets, you can."

Holley quickly drove off into the neighborhood, waiting for the time when she could follow the human to a hopefully safer location, when she turned the corner to find a police car… that wasn't alive. Looking horrified at the lifeless car, she felt as if she was looking at a corpse. Backing up slowly, she almost hit the officer the car belonged to. He looked afraid, but he also had a gun trained on her.

"What _are_ you?!" he demanded to know in a shaky voice. She whipped around to stare at him, not knowing what to do. "Answer me!"

"A car," she said simply, trying to not startle the officer, but that wasn't exactly an option, given her position.

"Being smart, are you?" he asked, cocking the weapon, "Don't move."

Within minutes, she was surrounded by at least five of the lifeless vehicles, if not more, all with armed officers by their sides, aiming whatever weapon they had at Holley. The street was caution taped off. It didn't matter; she was outnumbered. Keeping an eye on the cars that seemed to sit exactly where they were told, she wondered if they were just a different type of living car, like a pet. "What did I do wrong?" she pleaded, trying to get out of the ring, at least. She got no response. It was a matter of minutes before a large 18-wheeler was allowed onto the street, escorted by helicopters, which made Holley regret that she didn't try flying away when she had the chance. She watched in her mirrors as the trailer was opened, and she instantly decided to escape.

Trying to electrocute one of the police cars, she noticed that it had no reaction at all, leading to the conclusion that they couldn't react, not that they just wouldn't. Disheartened at the world she was thrown in, she riskily made a jump over the makeshift barrier, landing clumsily and forgetting about the police tape, which she wasn't able to dodge without using her wings. _Just get out without getting yourself killed,_ she repeated in her mind, hearing engines and sirens behind her, she found a hole in the tape large enough for her to jump through, relieving her of the possibility they would find out of too many of her gadgets. Speeding down the street, she took every turn she could, hoping she could lose the pursuers. The helicopters buzzed overhood, following her every move, but she couldn't find her way out of the neighborhood. Her computer was confused at the instant change of location and deactivated her GPS for her; no matter how she fought with it, it wouldn't work. She thought she drove by the same house before when she saw one of the cars, with a person inside it. Stunned, she lost track of how fast she was going or even where she was going. She couldn't stop, but the reduction of speed allowed the police the upper hand, stationing cars everywhere except a straightaway.

Screeching to a halt, she tried to find a way around the blockades, but the almost undead expressions of the cars the humans used unnerved her. _Why didn't my training say ANYTHING about this?!_ she wondered, afraid. She just wanted to fly away, but the ominous buzzing of the helicopters told her otherwise. The straightaway seemed clear, but she guessed something was waiting for her if she took that route. All eyes were on her as she glanced nervously around, but there was no way of escape.

Inching forward, she saw spikes aimed in her direction. They had _wanted_ her to escape, she realized, only to damage her to the point where she couldn't move. The huge truck turned the corner onto the street with spikes, reversing over them with the trailer facing the light purple car; she turned around to find that the police cars had closed in, the humans seemingly controlling their every move. She reversed in fear, and they moved forward.

_They're not going to turn me into one of those,_ she decided, beams flying into her eyes, effectively blinding her. She heard at least one helicopter above her, hovering extremely close to the ground, and the commotion continued to grow, a deafening roar as her back tires hit the ramp. The blue and white cars were so close to her; she looked for any sort of a soul within them, that might free her from the nightmare, but there was none. She was forced further and further up the ramp, one car following her partway up the ramp. She didn't bother trying to speak to it, able to see through its eyes to the human inside, but she was still hoping that it was at least partly alive, and would understand the fear she was feeling, but there was nothing.

She saw the shadow of the dark trailer pass over her, no longer on the ramp. Feeling almost safe, she relaxed for a moment, not noticing the police car reversing before it was too late. The doors were slammed shut, leaving her in complete darkness.

Flipping on her headlights, she found that there was nothing in the trailer at all- it was probably used for storage, but that also meant it was unmonitored. Controlling her emotions so she could think, she activated her computer, calculating a way to reach the other world. The most powerful signal she could send was in morse code: SOS. She sent it as many times as she could, hoping they were able to reach far enough for the other world to pick it up. However, she was only able to send it for about ten minutes, too scared to keep sending it. She allowed herself to give in for the time being, a few tears running down her hood; she knew it would be detrimental to gather herself later- if there was going to be a later for her.

* * *

"Why is a plane parked here?" Courtney asked, clueless. Everyone else shrugged, except Hannah.

"To be exact," she started, "that's an F4U Corsair."

Courtney looked at Hannah with annoyance, "Do you have to get specific."

"Hey," Hannah argued, "it just makes it more odd. That's a WWII airplane, and from it's markings… it's Rush." Hannah blinked, "That's exactly what my character Rush is supposed to look like." Her friends just stared at her blankly but Hannah had her eyes fixed on the plane. She stopped, "It moved."

"What moved?" Autumn asked.

"The plane, it moved."

"Of course I moved, genius," a rough voice called, "What do you think I am? Okay, whoever set up this joke, you're scaring Streak and my propellers are beginning to sting from these stupid trees." The voice was definitely Rush's, or at least what Hannah had pictured Rush sounding like, but not only that, he had spoken about Streak!

Just then, two big bat like ears poked over the plane's nose. Shortly later, a dragon's head appeared. It was Streak, the dragon Hannah had thought so much about. But that had to mean that the plane was alive, and he had to be Rush. Hannah was too curious, she walked up to the plane and looked at his left wing. Just as she had written about, he had a seam of welded metal across it.

"Hey," Rush snarled, "What are you doing?"

"Calm down Rush! I'm your creator! I just can't believe you're real!" Hannah exclaimed, draping her arms over his wing and climbing up, taking notice that Rush was uncomfortable with her being out of his range of vision.

Rush moved with a jerking motion trying to get her off, only succeeding in jamming his propellers harder into the trees. "Who are you? I demand to know!"

"I'm Hannah," the girl said calmly, "your creator? I wrote all about you, in fact, I have it all posted on the internet."

"The internet," Rush repeated blankly, "I can assure you I'm not just part of someone's imagination." After a moment of struggling to get his propeller out from between the trees, he snorted, "Will you get off? Or at least help?"

Hannah jumped off and waved over her friends, "It's okay, it's just Rush… and Streak."

"Um," Courtney began, "I think I'm gonna stay over here where it's safe from the fire breath of a dragon."

"No, no, no," Hannah laughed, "Streak can't breath fire, he's just a regular dragon."

This time it was Autumn, "But can't a regular dragon breath fire?"

"Not in my book, literally," Hannah said with a laugh. She noticed Streak looking rather embarrassed at his undragonlike behavior. He warbled something quietly to Rush, who just grunted a response, smiling slightly as he did so.

Bethany, who was being well and shy from the start (a very rare occurrence with her) started talking. "But talking planes don't exist, nor do dragons! It's impossible, it's cool, but impossible."

Once again Streak made a snickering growl, and Rush laughed, "You're very right there, Streak."

Hannah looked to Rush, expecting him to explain what Streak had been talking about, or at least growling and making dragon noises about. Rush only gave a smug, content looking smile and, despite having his propellers stuck between the trees, made a show of raising his nose in the posture of hautility. "If I don't exist," he stated snootily, "then you don't either."

Bethany was quick to argue, "You're the figment of Hannah's imagination, nothing more."

Rush only barked back, "And you humans are part of a fictional world as well." Streak barked his approval.

The four friends were tongue tied, shocked and confused. Hannah tried to ask, "What do you mean?"

Rush opened his mouth but Streak had already begun back talking in a hurried combination of clicks and razzes. Rush rolled his eyes and began translating the odd language of dragontongue. "He said 'there's a book, written by Paul Heijman (1932-1999) called "Rise of the Upwalkers" that describes an entire world of creatures called humans and how their ways work.'" Rush added his own bit, "Crazy if you ask me, his theory was, but now I'm beginning to believe it." The white and blue dragon slapped his claws against Rush's propellers in annoyance and began to speak once again. Rush translated, "'The book was far from popular at first, but was soon accepted worldwide. Just recently, in 2005, they made a movie, simply titled as "Humans" based off the book. Since then, they have made a sequel for the movie, "Humans 2" and are planning to make a third coming out in 2016.'"

It was funny how Streak knew more about the culture of planes and cars than Rush did. Rush watched the movies, and read the books, to find entertainment in them. Streak watched and read to learn, and Rush seemed to be very annoyed that Streak might know more than him. "At least I know how to fight," Rush mumbled disagreeably under his breath.

Streak obviously got off a wry remark and Rush gave him a glare. The dragon looked very pleased with himself indeed.

Bethany was grappling with the idea of Rush and Streak actually existed, "It's… it's still impossible that you exist."

Rush tried for the eleventh time to free his propellers from the tree. "Go ahead," he grunted, "believe that then. Frankly, I can hardly believe that you're here." He took a sharp breath inward as his propellers caught once more on the gnarly trunk of the tree, so close to slipping out from their position. Hannah took a hold of one of them to try to help. It was no use.

Autumn shook her head, "I've read a lot of books in my life so far, but never, ever, did I think I'd meet something like that."

Rush did not like being called a 'that', "Woah, my name's Rush. Don't ever call me an 'it' or 'that' again, thank you."

"Sorry," Autumn apologized softly.

Rush jolted backwards again, another attempt to get free. There was a pained howl and his propellers snapped. He backed out of the natural prison grimacing, with one propeller snapped in half, the other two had scratches streaking across their edges.

Streak chattered something to him and he gritted his teeth. "Great. Now I'm trapped in a place where I can't fly…" he shivered.

**A/N: Okay, so this possibly sounds like a Mary Sue story, but we're going to make sure it doesn't go in that direction. Thanks for reading what we have so far and we'd love reviews! :)**


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